The corner of Massachusetts and Parker got brightened up this week when artist Gillian Fazio painted a citrusy summerscape on the wall of The Yard on Mass facing Parker Street.

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Midtown Blossoms. @gfazioart turning @theyardonmass south wall into perpetual summer. #lkldart #lkld #lkldnow #lakelandFL #lkldfl #art #mural #lkldmural #midtownlkld

A post shared by The Yard On Mass (@theyardonmass) on Jan 3, 2020 at 10:02am PST

Frustrated that many vacant lots are used as illegal dumping grounds, city commissioners are pondering whether to raise fines for property owners, many of whom live out of state, who repeatedly violate lot-cleaning rules. The city pays to have the lots cleaned and mowed, and Commissioner Scott Franklin says the repeat offenders must consider the current fees and fines (typically $261 to $546) a cost of doing business | Latest list of violators

Plans for affordable workforce apartments near Tigertown are a step closer. Developer Green Mills Group of Fort Lauderdale was selected for an $8 million state Community Development Block Grant for disaster recovery to build the 80-unit Parker Pointe building on East Bella Vista Street.

• The Lakelander’s Christmas light tour includes both a whimsical map illustration and a Google map for driving.
• LakelandMom’s tour extends beyond Lakeland and also includes a Google map.

People living near Lakeland Linder Airport can expect noise from fighter jets just a little longer. Draken International, whose pilots fly as enemy combatants in military training exercises, has until Sunday to finish testing its newly revamped Mirage F1 fighters. After that, the airport’s main runway closes for an upgrade for 90 days, a closure unexpected to halt flights other than Draken’s.
ALSO: The Aviationist analyzes the jets’ new look.